Automaton on aisle 6! Walmart is tracking its inventory with high-tech retail robots

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Shopper Gerry Scott, right, watches as the Bossanova robot scans shelves containing trash bags at Walmart in Burbank. The company is testing the shelf-scanning device which it expects to be more efficient at the tedious task of checking inventory on shelves. (Photo by Dan Watson)

Yep, that’s a robot cruising down the aisle at Walmart. But it’s not for sale.

It’s what Walmart shoppers are seeing at four of the company’s Southern California stores as the mega retailer moves forward with its testing of a new shelf-scanning technology.

Developed by San Francisco-based Bossa Nova Robotics, the robots are now in service at Walmart locations in Burbank, Palmdale, Lancaster and Santa Clarita.

High-tech inventory

The smart-devices use artificial intelligence and machine learning to help identify where merchandise levels are low, prices are wrong or labels are missing. A robot can scan dozens of aisles in under an hour. That allows employees to identify inventory levels several times a day, providing near real-time updates of what areas of the store need the most attention. It also frees up workers so they can spend more time serving customers.

“We’ve been testing this technology for a couple of years,” Walmart spokeswoman Tiffany Wilson said. “The first store that had it was in Pennsylvania. We’ve had it here at the Burbank store for about three months. The technology just recently came to California ”

Based on the results of its initial testing, Walmart has expanded the use of robots to 50 locations throughout the U.S. The retailer said last year that it was investing around $11 billion in 2017 and 2018 in U.S. store growth, store remodels and other innovations, including online grocery pickup and scan-and-go technology.

Not your typical sci-fi robots

Walmart employee Sofia Ugalde stocks the shelves at the Burbank Walmart as the Bossa Nova robot senses her presence and veers to the side to avoid running into her. (Photo by Dan Watson)

They are robots, but don’t expect to see a human-like device tromping down the soup aisle while clutching an electronic tablet. No, these automatons more closely resemble small kiosks on wheels. Each is equipped with a vertical tower lined with lights and high-tech sensors that are used the scan the shelves.

They barely make a sound as they pass by.

Martin Hitch, Bossa Nova’s chief business officer, was on hand at the Burbank location at 1301 N. Victory Blvd. on Wednesday to explain how the system works.

“The robot is designed to live autonomously in a space,” he said. “It’s moving around, scanning the shelves and figuring out what needs to be restocked. And it’s sending messages to the store staff to say, ‘We’ve got some out-of-stocks here – come and restock them,’ or ‘This price needs to change here,’ or ‘This layout needs to change.’ ”

Customized programming

The units are programmed to address each store’s layout, Hitch said, while also responding to busy times when certain items may be disappearing quickly off the shelves.

“The store is run in zones, so at certain times of the day it may need to go capture information in packaged food, and at other times it may be addressing shelves in general merchandise areas like sporting goods or toys,” he said. “We work very closely with the schedules of the store to make sure that the right data is available to make the associates more productive in the way they address the shelves.”

How are shoppers reacting?

The robot at the Burbank store has drawn mixed reactions from shoppers, according to Wilson.

“We get some customers who are fascinated by it,” she said. “They look it over, study it very carefully and ask a lot of questions,” she said. “But the more common reaction is for people to completely ignore it and just go about their shopping. I think it’s gotten to the point where we’re used to technology being a part of our lives.”

A similar technology is being used at the new Sheraton Los Angeles San Gabriel hotel, which employs eight robots that can deliver linens and towels to guest rooms or direct travelers to the hotel’s first-floor restaurant.

The CaliBurger restaurant in Pasadena also recently unveiled “Flippy,” an industrial robotic arm that cooks burgers.

Technology fueling job losses

Critics of these rapidly evolving technologies fear they will eventually displace an inordinate number of workers. A recent report from the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that 400 million to 800 million people worldwide could be displaced by automation and need to find new jobs by 2030.

Behrokh Khoshnevis, a USC expert in robotic-building technologies, said people in sectors such as the service industry should not be doing things that robots can do — and probably do better.

“Many people tend to look at the negative side of technology, but all you have to do is go back to the way life was without it,” he said. “It’s led to a more advanced form of society. You wouldn’t want to go back to the way it was before.”

It’s safe to say that the robots at Walmart stores aren’t going to be stealing very many jobs, as the 142,000-square-foot Burbank store employs about 450 workers. Hitch said his company’s technology is helping the retailer meet the rapidly changing demands of its customers.

“Walmart understands that customer habits and shopping expectations are changing at an incredibly fast pace,” he said. “We’re excited to learn from associates and store managers as we work with Walmart to deploy our technology.”

Beyond that, there’s always the “wow” factor.

“I can’t believe how bright it’s lights are!” yelled Sam Nichols, 8, who accompanied his mother to the Walmart store in Burbank on Wednesday. “And how can it monitor all of those codes?”

Kevin Smith handles business news and editing for the Southern California News Group, which includes 11 newspapers, websites and social media channels. He covers everything from employment, technology and housing to retail, corporate mergers and business-based apps. Kevin often writes stories that highlight the local impact of trends occurring nationwide. And the focus is always to shed light on why those issues matter to readers in Southern California.